New Delhi: The US has imposed sanctions against Bangladesh’s paramilitary force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) — including the country’s national police chief, a former RAB head — for alleged human rights violations.
In response to Washington’s decision, Bangladesh Saturday summoned the US ambassador to Dhaka, Earl Miller, to protest the sanctions.
2/2: FS told @USAmbBangladesh that allegations made against RAB had been explained, along with information on justice and accountability measures undertaken, to not just US Administration but also to a number of UN human rights mechanisms on multiple occasions.@StateDept
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh (@BDMOFA) December 11, 2021
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on six current and former officials of RAB Friday, as well as other individuals and entities across Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, and North Korea, for alleged connections to human rights abuses.
“Widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse in Bangladesh by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) — as part of the Bangladeshi government’s war on drugs — threaten US national security interests by undermining the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the economic prosperity of the people of Bangladesh,” said the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces economic and trade sanctions, in a statement Friday,
Benazir Ahmed, who served as director general of RAB from 2015 to 2020 and is now the inspector general of Bangladesh Police, is barred from entering the US.
Sanctions have also been imposed on current RAB director general Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun, additional director general (operations) Khan Mohammad Azad, as well as three former additional directors general (operations) — Tofayel Mustafa Sorwar, Mohammad Jahangir Alam and Mohammad Anwar Latif Khan.
In a separate statement Friday, the US State Department also barred former RAB official Lt Col Miftah Uddin Ahmed from entering the US, because of his alleged role, alongside Benazir Ahmed, in the May 2018 extrajudicial killing of Teknaf city municipal councillor Ekramul Haque.
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What is RAB?
RAB is an elite paramilitary force created through The Armed Police Battalions (Amendment) Act, 2003, passed under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government of then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
It came into existence on the heels of Operation Clean Heart, an anti-crime operation carried out from October 2002 to January 2003, which Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has in the past condemned.
Around 44 people died from injuries following torture during the drive, the Daily Star reported. However, the Zia-led government confirmed only 12 deaths and said all the victims had died of heart attacks in hospital after being handed over to police.
The subsequent Joint Drive Indemnity Act, 2003, sought to give indemnity to all personnel involved in the operation. It barred victims from seeking justice through cases or petitions against anyone involved in the operation. The law was scrapped in 2015 by the High Court, and Operation Clean Heart was declared illegal.
How RAB turned into a ‘death squad’
Currently, RAB is a 12,000-strong force whose personnel wear a distinctive all-black uniform. What makes it different from Bangladesh’s other law enforcement units is that it has the power to investigate any offence on the direction of the government. According to Section 6B of The Armed Police Battalions (Amendment) Act, 2003: “The government may, at any time, direct the Rapid Action Battalion to investigate any offence.”
In recent years, RAB has attracted criticism for allegedly targeting opposition party members, journalists, and human rights activists through enforced disappearances and killings. According to Bangladesh-based NGO Odhikar, RAB was responsible for 500 enforced disappearances between 2009 and 2019.
The Bangladeshi media has in the past requested the government to “rein it [RAB] in before it turns into a monster,” and the international press has at times referred to the force as a “death squad”.
In 2010, leaked US embassy cables revealed that the British government helped train RAB.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
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